Amex Gold Card – How To Use the Monthly $10 Dining Credit [2024]

Ah, the American Express^® Gold Card. Household spending on food has been growing at an impressive pace and this card is an absolute game-changer in the food space thanks to its rewards and benefits for foodies.

One of these benefits is the dining credit, which can be yours every month when making the right purchases.

In this guide, we’ll give you an overview of the benefit, how to use it, and what won’t count towards the $10 monthly credit.

Let’s get right into it!

Amex Gold Card Snapshot

The Amex Gold card is one of our favorite picks for everyday spending. Everybody has to eat every day, so why not get a card that offers exceptional rewards on your food-related purchases every day?

That’s exactly what the Amex Gold card can offer.

BEST FOR DINING

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

American Express^® Gold Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!

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Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

American Express^® Gold Card

This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

60,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,200

Annual Fee

$325

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The American Express^® Gold Card is a game-changer.

With this card, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants, up to $50,000 per calendar year, and you’ll also earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1x.

There isn’t another card on the market that offers a 1-2 punch like this. Of course, there are several other benefits of the Gold Card as well, including extra monthly dining rewards and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 4x points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, up to $50,000 per calendar year; then 1x thereafter
• 4x points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 per calendar year; then 1x thereafter
• 3x points per dollar on flights purchased directly from airlines or at AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $325 annual fee (rates and fees)
• No lounge access

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Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 4X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
• Earn 4X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
• Earn 2X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
• Earn 1X Membership Rewards^® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express^® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations.
• $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express^® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express^® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
• Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. Eligible charges vary by property.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• Annual Fee is $325.
• Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

You’ll first start off with an amazing welcome offer; then, you’ll earn up to 4x Membership Rewards points:

• 4x points at global restaurants (up to $50,000 per calendar year), including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
• 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year)
• 3x points on flights purchased directly with the airline or at AmexTravel.com
• 1x points on all other purchases

Just to give you an idea, earning 4x points would be equal to an 8.8% return on spending, which is based on our valuations of Amex Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents apiece.

To make things better, the Amex Gold card offers up to $424 in statement credits:

• Up to $120 in Uber Cash every year (up to $10 per month), which is good for rides and Uber Eats orders in the U.S. Terms apply.
• Up to $120 in dining credits (up to $10 per month) with participating dining partners
• New $100 Resy Credit: $100 annual statement credit ($50 semi-annually), redeemable at any U.S. Resy restaurant and other eligible Resy purchases. Enrollment required through your Amex account.
• New Dunkin’ Credit: $84 annual statement credit ($7/month), redeemable at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.

Even better, the Amex Gold card allows you to book stays with The Hotel Collection, which essentially offers you 2 key perks on eligible stays of 2 nights or more:

• Up to $100 property credit
• Room upgrade, subject to availability

The Amex Gold card has no preset spending limit*, which means you can splurge at that fancy restaurant you’ve been eyeing.

Lastly, you’ll find no foreign transaction fees, and no authorized user fee to add up to 5 cards ($35 annual fee per card after that; rates & fees).

Amex Gold Card Dining Credit (up to $10)

The Amex Gold card’s dining credit of up to $10 is a monthly statement credit offered when you make purchases at participating partners.

The total annual benefit amount you can enjoy from this is up to $120.

You have to use it for purchases with these participating partners upon enrollment:

How to Get and Use The $10 Dining Credit?

Using the Amex Gold card to get up to $10 off at these merchants per month can be fantastic. But in order to get the benefit, you’ll first need to enroll.

Enroll First

Enrolling in the Amex Gold card’s dining credit can be accomplished with just a few clicks.

First, log into your online Amex account. Navigate to your Amex Gold card and click Rewards & Benefits.

After that, click the Benefits button on the right-hand side.

Scroll down until you see a grid of card benefits. Find the box that says $120 Dining Credit. Click Enroll Now.

After that, you’ll click Enroll Now again, and you’re done!

After you’re enrolled, you can double-check that you are enrolled by following the same instructions and seeing Enrolled in the top-left corner as shown below.

Use it Or Lose It

Now that you’re enrolled in the Amex Gold card’s dining credit, the next step is to use it!

This benefit is a “use it or lose it” benefit, so it’s in your best interest to use it every month.

You can get a credit per month with any of the participating partners, and you can redeem it with different partners from month to month.

Just make a purchase with a partner and you’ll get a $10 statement credit. The statement credit generally posts in a few days, but it can take 6 to 8 weeks, according to Amex’s terms and conditions.

In the image above, you’ll see that the dining credit took around 4 days after the original purchase was made to post.

Best Ways To Use the $10 Dining Credit

Without a doubt, our favorite way to use up to $10 in dining credits is through Grubhub.

Pretty much any pick-up or delivery order from Grubhub will count towards the $10 dining credit. And since thousands of restaurants are on Grubhub, you can easily find something you like.

Even pick-up orders qualify, so using the dining credit at Grubhub is about as close as you can get to the true face value of the dining credit.

Sure, you can get the dining credit with the other partners, but without Grubhub, it’s hard to get mass appeal and utility from the Amex Gold card’s dining credit.

Hot Tip: Get a free year of GrubHub+ with Amazon Prime to get free delivery on orders of $12+ … a savings of $9.99 per month!

Non-Eligible Dining Purchases

The dining credit on the Amex Gold card only counts for specific purchases. You can’t just go to the drive-thru at McDonald’s or Burger King and expect the dining credit to cover your purchase.

Pretty much any other merchant besides those listed in the benefit terms is ineligible to earn the dining credit.

To get the dining credit, you’ll need to make an eligible purchase at Goldbelly, Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Wine.com, and Five Guys.

Any other purchase will not count toward the dining credit.

Hot Tip: Although authorized users can use the dining credit every month, they will not get their own dining credits. So remember, it’s up to $10 across all cardholders.

Is the Amex Gold Card Dining Credit Worth It?

We love the fact that the dining credit can easily be used through Grubhub.

And the fact that, if used every month, the dining credit offsets the Amex Gold card’s annual fee by almost half, is yet another lovable feature of the Amex Gold card.

Indeed, the dining credit, Uber Cash, Resy credit, and Dunkin’ credit, when properly utilized, pretty much offset the entire annual fee of the Amex Gold card, making it an absolute no-brainer to hold long-term.

Final Thoughts

The Amex Gold card is a spectacular rewards card you should be keeping in your wallet.

And although the card has an annual fee, the monthly dining credit can easily make the economics more favorable for you.

We are absolute fanatics of the Amex Gold card, and the dining credit (especially when used with Grubhub) allows us to enjoy a discounted (or potentially even free) meal every month.

Just enroll in your benefit online and make your purchase! You’ll usually see the credit post in a few days, but Amex states 6 to 8 weeks as the typical timeframe.

*No Preset Spending Limit means your spending limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.